Our Team

Global Youth Leadership Advisory Board (GYLAB)

DOT’s GYLAB is a group of young leaders from across Africa and the Middle East who play a key role in capturing new insight on youth realities. The GYLAB fulfills a crucial role within DOT’s ecosystem, providing guidance and insights to the DOT leadership, staff, and stakeholders. The board will further amplify the voices of young people, ensuring that their priorities, emerging trends, and pertinent issues are not only heard but also integrated into decision-making processes.

Board of Directors

Justine Hendricks
Chair

Justine Hendricks is the President and Chief Executive Officer at Farm Credit Canada (FCC). Before joining FCC, she served as the Chief Corporate Sustainability Officer & SVP Sales and Business Enablement at Export Development Canada (EDC). At EDC, she also previously served as Vice President of Working Capital Solutions (Guarantee and Bonding Programs) at Export Development Canada (EDC). Before joining EDC, Justine held a Senior Branch Manager position at RBC Financial group for more than ten years.

Justine is a graduate of the University of Ottawa's MBA program and holds a Bachelor of Arts in Urban Studies from Carleton University. She has a Certified Financial Planner designation and is a recipient of the Trudeau Medal from the Telfer School of Management, recognizing her leadership, initiative and contributions to the business world and the community. Justine has been Chair of the Forum for Young Canadians since 2013.

Michel Houle
Director and Treasurer

Michel is the Associate Vice President, Financial Resources at the University of Ottawa. Michel is a Certified Professional Accountant (CPA, CMA) and has over twenty-five years of experience in finance, information technology, human resources and procurement. Previously, Michel served as Vice President, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Office of the National Capital Commission. He also worked at the Canadian Museum of Nature, where he held the position of Vice President, Corporate Services and Chief Financial Officer, and at the Canadian Commercial Corporation, where he held the position of Vice President, Risk and Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Michel also worked in the private sector. 

Nungari Mwangi
Director

Nungari works at the African Development Bank’s Agri-SME Innovative Financing program where she leads on Strategy, Partnerships and Special Initiatives. Nungari holds a Phd in International Development from the University of Cambridge and has eight years of experience working in development strategy consulting, academic research and humanitarian program management. Previously, Nungari worked at the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA) as a Program Lead for the Centre for African Leaders in Agriculture (CALA), and Strategy Officer, Strategic Initiatives in Policy and State Capability. She also worked at the International Labour Organization, Dalberg Global Development Advisors and Christian Aid, where she served as a Consultant and Technical Advisor. Nungari is passionate about agricultural value chains, global production networks and fostering development partnerships. Nungari also has experience working across East Africa.

Peter King'ori Mwangi
Director

Peter King'ori Mwangi is a Kenyan electrical engineer, accountant, and business executive. He is currently Non Executive Director at British American Tobacco and Funguo Investments Ltd. From 2015-2020, he served as Group Chief Executive of UAP Old Mutual Group, operating in six African countries. 

Previously, Peter served as the CEO of Nairobi Securities Exchange Limited, and investment manager at ICDC Investments Co. and Managing Centum, Peter began his career as a Technical Officer in the Kenya Air Force, where he was involved in the maintenance of avionic communication systems and the development of an information and communication technologies (ICTs) strategy at the Air Force.

Maria Nehme
Director

Maria Nehme is the Strategy & Operations Manager at OLX in Lebanon. She previously worked in Management Consulting firms such as Booz Allen Hamilton and Booz & Company on several engagements for public and private entities across the Middle East. Maria comes from a background in Economics and holds an MBA from ESSEC Business School in Paris.

Marc Tassé
Director
Marc Tassé is a globally recognized expert on ethical leadership, corporate misconduct, and crisis response. He advises executives of various departments of domestic and foreign governments, as well as CEOs, directors, and other leaders of Fortune 500 companies and global organizations, on responding strategically to sensitive regulatory, governance, and reputational challenges.
An award-winning lecturer at the University of Ottawa’s Faculty of Law and at the Telfer Executive MBA program, he has delivered lectures on corporate ethics and financial scandal remediation at Harvard University, and has been frequently quoted in prestigious publications, such as The Wall Street Journal.
David Johnston
Founding Chair

David Johnston served as Governor General of Canada from 2010 to 2017. Prior to becoming Governor General, David Johnston served as the President of the University of Waterloo, one of Canada's most innovative universities and a leading global institution in e-learning and information technology. A graduate of Harvard, Cambridge and Queen's Universities, his academic specializations are securities regulation, corporate law and information technology law. He has served on many provincial and federal task forces and the boards of Canada Trust, Alcatel, Seagram, EMCO, CGI and Lifestyle Furnishings. He has chaired the Board of Overseers of Harvard University, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research, the Neuroscience Network Centre of Excellence, the Federal Government's Information Highway Advisory Council and its Blue Ribbon Panel on Smart Communities, the National Broadband TaskForce and the national e-Business Roundtable. David Johnston is a Companion of the Order of Canada.

IMAB

The Impact Makers Advisory Board (IMAB) is a coalition of philanthropists, impact investors, and young social entrepreneurs committed to advancing youth-led enterprises in Africa. Co-designed and launched by young entrepreneurs in collaboration with funding communities in Africa and the UK, IMAB fosters collaborative engagement and knowledge-sharing within the MSME financing ecosystem. Its focus is on supporting the growth and sustainability of youth-led businesses, particularly through initiatives like the seed funding program and sustainability strategy of DOT’s Going Beyond Project in Africa.

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